Adibe Emenyonu
2 December 2008
Benin — The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) said it has extended its services to higher institutions across the country urging management of such schools to ensure that students' payments were collected at the point of entry.
It said such should remitted to necessary institutions which included Health Management Organisations (HMOs) to enable them benefit from subsidised health care services.
NHIS however said that part time students may not benefit from the scheme, stressing that it fears that working students may hide under the guise of being students and not contribute their quota as workers.
Unveiling the blueprint for tertiary institutions in the South-South zone of the country in Benin yesterday, the NHIS said that plans were also underway to make the health services available to members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) who would be placed under para-military agencies category to make them part of the scheme.
Disclosing this, NHIS Assistant General Manager in the zone, Mr Nasiru Ikharo, said the scheme which would be restricted to full time students in federal, state and private tertiary institutions would cater for out-patients care, including consumables, prescribed drugs, diagnostic tests, hospital care which would not exceed 15 days per annum, health education and counseling and emergency care for accident cases.
He stated that management of the institutions are expected to remit the contributions to HMO at the start of every session who would in turn be responsible for the payment of healthcare service providers, just as he said that benefiting students would be made to pay an "actuarially determined amount" annually.
According to him, regulatory bodies of tertiary institutions in the country which included the National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), National Commission for Colleges of Education(NCCE) among others would be involved in the scheme to ensure the success of the programme, even as he added that health facilities in the various schools would have to be accredited and would be beneficiaries armed with identity cards.
Ikharo said the government through the NHIS from time to time would set standards and guidelines to regulate and protect the rights of all stakeholders by ensuring that the laid down guidelines were strictly followed.
In his address earlier, Executive Secretary of the scheme, Mr Waziri Dogo-Muhammed, who was represented by the Principal Manager, Technical Operation, Mrs Hannatu Ardo, called on the HMOs to ensure that students get qualitative services without compromising standards.
"The launch of the programmed for students will improve the internal climate of the institutions thereby making healthcare available to all members of the community, whereby everyone contributes to each other's healthcare", he said.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
